This invention relates to a removable and collapsible cover adapted to overlie a pallet and articles supported thereon.
It is conventional to place workpieces or other articles atop a pallet either before or after such workpieces have been treated. In some instances the pallet functions as a storage area for the workpieces until such time as they are moved from one site to another. Some workpieces, such as those formed of sheet material, must be protected from contamination by foreign substances such as dust, particles, and liquids. If the workpieces are of the kind which are to be presented to forming dies, for example, the presence of dirt or other foreign objects on the workpieces may result in damage to the workpieces themselves or to the dies which act on the workpieces.
These problems have been recognized heretofore as a result of which it is common practice to enclose palletized workpieces in a protective wrapping. To ensure retention of the protective wrapping in place, it is conventional to utilize banding or strapping which encircles the wrapped workpieces. The materials used in providing protective wrapping of the kind referred to are expensive and require considerable time to apply to and remove from the palletized workpieces. In addition, the removal of the retaining strapping sometimes causes injury to the person or persons who perform the wrapping and removal operations. Disposal of the wrapping and strapping materials also presents problems.
A principal object of the invention is to provide a cover for palletized workpieces or other articles which overcomes the problems referred to above.
A pallet cover constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention is reusable, adapted for use with conventional pallets requiring no modification of the latter, and provides complete cover for the palletized articles. The cover is formed from a unitary sheet of relatively stiff, form-stable plastics material and has a top or upper panel adapted to overlie a pallet and articles supported thereon. The upper panel has an area and configuration corresponding substantially to those of the pallet. A plurality of side panels depend from the edges of the upper panel and each side panel is of such area and configuration as substantially to occupy the space between the upper panel and the pallet. The side panels and the pallet have cooperable retaining means which enable the side panels releasably to be secured to the pallet in such manner that the cover encloses whatever is supported on the pallet.
The pallet preferably has at spaced intervals about its periphery sockets which accommodate posts that provide support for a second pallet overlying the lower pallet, thereby enabling pallets to be stacked vertically without subjecting the articles supported on a lower pallet to possible injury by an upper pallet. The cover""s upper panel and side panels are notched at positions corresponding to those of the posts so as to enable the posts to extend above the cover and provide support for an upper pallet without damaging the cover.
The side panels of the cover are hinged to the upper panel for swinging movements from a position in which they depend from the upper panel through substantially 270xc2x0 to a collapsed position in which they overlie and are substantially parallel to the upper panel. Following such movement of the side panels the cover may be lifted and moved to an area away from the pallet so as to enable articles to be placed on and removed from the pallet. The cover preferably has handles to facilitate lifting and transporting of the cover.
A pallet of the kind with which the cover is usable may have in its workpiece-supporting surface a plurality of openings in which upstanding positioning elements or pins may be accommodated for the purpose of retaining workpieces on the pallet surface in selected positions. The positioning pins are removable from their upstanding positions when no longer required. The pallet has one or more compartments in which the positioning pins may be stored when not in use.
The support posts which enable one pallet to be stacked atop another at a level above that occupied by workpieces supported on the lower pallet may be removed from the associated pallet and refitted thereto at a lowered position so that, once all the workpieces have been removed from a lower pallet, other pallets may be stacked one upon another, thereby reducing the overall height of the stacked pallets.
When an empty pallet is conditioned for transport the cover associated with such pallet may be returned, in collapsed condition, to such pallet and placed atop the latter. The notches in the panels will provide an interlock with the supporting posts, even when the latter are in their lowered positions, thereby ensuring retention of the collapsed cover on the pallet.